Jonathan Dickinson State Park

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Two white-tailed bucks on the Loxahatchee River

Jonathan Dickinson State Park is a Florida State Park and historic site located between Stuart and Jupiter, near Hobe Sound, in southeastern Florida. The park includes a variety of natural communities, such as sand pine scrub, pine flatwoods, mangroves, and river swamps. The Loxahatchee River, which was named a National Wild and Scenic River in 1985 (the first in Florida), runs through the park. The address is 16450 S.E. Federal Highway.

History

The park is named after Jonathan Dickinson, a Quaker merchant who was shipwrecked in 1696, with his family and others, on the Florida coast near the present-day park. He wrote a journal describing their encounters with local tribes, and their journey up the coast to St. Augustine.

A man known as Trapper Nelson homesteaded on the banks of the Loxahatchee River in the 1930s, living off the land trapping and selling furs. He soon became known as the Wildman of the Loxahatchee. After he died in 1968 the state acquired his land, and deeded it to the park. The site can only be reached by boat.

The United States Army established Camp Murphy, a top-secret radar training school, in the area that is now the park, in 1942. The camp included over 1,000 buildings, and housed more than 6,000 officers and soldiers. The camp was deactivated in 1944, after only two years of operation. Most of the camp buildings were torn down, but some of the building foundations remain. The property was transferred to the State of Florida in 1947, and opened as a state park in 1950.

Recreational Activities

The park has such amenities as bicycling, boat tours, boating, cabins, canoeing, fishing, hiking, horse trails, kayaking, picnicking areas, swimming, wildlife viewing and full camping facilities. It also has a visitor center, a museum with interpretive exhibits and concessions. The park operates a 44-passenger boat for tours of Trapper Nelson's homestead.

Image:Yellow-crowned_Night_Heron.jpg|Yellow-crowned Night Heron on Kitching Creek Image:Ibis.jpg|Ibis on the Loxahatchee Image:Pileated Woodpecker.jpg|Pileated Woodpecker on Kitching Creek Image:Great_Blue_Heron.jpg|Great Blue Heron on the Loxahatchee

External Links

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